Will writing services

It's a legal document that allows you to state what should happen to your estate (your money, property, investments and possessions) as well as your young children after you have died.

There are different types of will available in England and Wales, and they each suit different needs.

• A standard will for a single person is known as a single will and is best for people who want to record their own individual wishes.
• If your wishes are similar to someone else's (typically your partner or spouse) then you may want to make standard mirror wills together. These are separate wills that are similar to one another.
• If you want additional asset protection, have children from a previous relationship or want to protect the inheritance of vulnerable beneficiaries, you can make a trust will.

If you live in England or Wales and die without writing a legally valid will, the law will determine who gets what from your estate. If you have no living family members, all your property and possessions will go to the Crown. If you have children under 18 years old, other people can make decisions about who will take care of the children and manage their finances, education and living arrangements. By making a will you can specify your wishes.

There are number of things you can include in a will:

• appoint people you trust to look after your children under 18 years (called guardians)
• appoint people you trust to carry out the terms of your will (called executors)
• name the people or charities you want to benefit from your estate (called beneficiaries)
• leave gifts of specific items or fixed sums of money (called legacies)
• create trusts to help protect your assets for future generations, protect against residential care costs or help vulnerable or disabled beneficiaries
• state your funeral wishes.

Once you’ve made your will, it’s important to review it every 3-5 years or after any significant life event, to ensure it’s still an accurate reflection of your wishes.

You should review your will after:

• getting married or divorced (getting married actually voids any existing will)
• the birth of a child, grandchild or other family member
• selling or purchasing a property
• acquiring or disposing of assets.

Your will deals with your belongings (such as your property, bank accounts and personal possessions) that you own at the time of your death, not at the time you write your will, which could change significantly in the future, particularly if you expect to have paid off your mortgage or are likely to receive an inheritance at some point.

Will writing is not a regulated industry in England and Wales, which means that technically anyone can offer will writing services, regardless of their qualification or experience.

Saga Legal have partnered with Co-op Legal Services who are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, for additional protection.

While it is technically possible to write a will without professional support, a will needs to contain the correct terminology and be drafted in the correct way so that that it takes effect as intended.

Homemade DIY wills are often poorly drafted, contain mistakes or are incorrectly executed. As a result, they are commonly found to be invalid or ineffective after death.

A trust is a legal structure which can be included as part of your will and can offer increased asset protection. These types of wills are called trust wills.

We would always recommend that you consider the benefits of setting up a trust as part of your will. They are most commonly seen in the following circumstances:

• you wish to protect your estate against possible care fees in the future
• you have a spouse or partner but have children from a previous relationship
• you wish to leave some of your estate to a vulnerable person.

Yes, writing a trust will can be an effective way to protect your home or savings against care home fees in the future. With specialist advice, a trust will lets you ringfence some of the property’s value to protect it from being used to fund care fees.